It is known to provide, for use in a knock-down stand for displaying wares, a plurality of molded plastic shelves, with integral sleeves thereon that are designed to be adapted to telescopically cooperate with light weight tubular posts which, when assembled with the shelves, provides the vertical structural upright supports for the display stand.
Such prior art display stands, and the shelves therefor, have included guasi-rectangular, generally planar, plastic, shelf members, each formed integral with transversely extending tubular elements that provide sleeve-like members at the corners of the shelf which, because of the structural and design requirements of said previous constructions, invade and thereby diminish the intended rectangular support surface of the support member. Said prior art shelves were also formed integrally with a transverse planar flange that extended transversely along, and integral with, the exposed horizontal edges of the support member, and merged with the sleeve-like members in vertical traces that were located substantially radially of the center of the sleeve-like members. Because of the geometry of such prior shelves as described, the entire support area of the shelf could not be utilized, as a quadrant of each sleeve-like member occupied a corner of the shelf. Furthermore, said prior art plastic shelf constructions required substantial reinforcement on the underside of the support surface to withstand the product-load forces applied thereon, and to withstand the stresses developed therein.
The prior art plastic shelf constructions have had drawbacks in that the invasion of the rectangular, planar, product-support area by said tubular elements of the shelf substantially reduced the effective pay load of the shelf. Furthermore, the product support area of the shelf employed expensive plastic in an inefficient manner, thus failing to provide maximum cost effectiveness of construction.